FCC Begins to Surrender Its Authority to Prevent Discrimination of Internet Content

Washington — The FCC has voted to approve Chairman Pai’s proposal and begin the process of removing the FCC’s current authority to intervene if an Internet Service Provider creates toll lanes on the internet and discriminates against similar content for a fee. The 2-1 party-line vote takes the first step to unravel the historic net neutrality rules — despite millions of internet users supporting the rules.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association has advocated for competitive markets for over 40 years, supported the FCC’s current Open Internet Order and filed anamicus brief in the federal appeals court case, which upheld the FCC’s rules.

The following can be attributed to CCIA President & CEO Ed Black:

“Over the decades, I have watched government officials promote competition and protect consumers when necessary. This is an unprecedented step in the opposite direction. We appreciate Commissioner Clyburn for reminding her colleagues their job is to protect the public interest.

“It is baffling that the agency charged with protecting consumer internet access would instead kowtow to company threats not to invest in broadband buildout — unless the FCC removed any real means of responding to bad behavior. The proposal is based on faulty logic, focusing on one data point while overlooking the growing investment in the broader internet economy. We cannot afford to blindly trust that historic net neutrality rules will be faithfully followed without oversight.”

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CCIA is an international not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to innovation and enhancing society’s access to information and communications. CCIA promotes open markets, open systems, open networks and full, fair and open competition in the computer, telecommunications and Internet industries.